Improvement in catches for trunks



Y H. c. HUNT.

Catches fdr Trunks, &. l 40,157,520 Pafenfednecjanw@ UNTTED STATES ATENTOFFICE.

HENRY C. HUNT, OF NEVARK, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN CATCHES FOR TRUNKS, &c.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 157,520, dated December8, 1874; application tiled September 14, 1874.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY C. HUNT, of the lcity of Newark, in the countyof Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain on trunks forthe purpose ot' securing the lid more firmly than can be done bythe lockalone; but it is applicable to all the purposes of a catch Where theparts to be held together approach each other, as do the body and lid ofa trunk or box, traveling-bag frames, sliding doors, ladies7belt-fastenings, Snc.; and I hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, inwhich- Figure l is an inverted View. Fig. 2 is a plan View with the diskremoved. Fig. 3 is a sectional edge view, and Fig. 4 is a verticalsection of the catch.

To enable those skilled in the art to which my invention relates thebetter to understand and construct the same, I will proceed to describeit more fully.

In Fig. l, B is the base-plate, which is secured to the body of thetrunk by means of nails through the holes a in the ears e. B is a platewhich is secured to the lid of the trunk, and it is provided with acatch, c, which engages With the catch c when the lid is down. D is acentral disk, on the inside of which there is a catch, of, and two pins,P and P', which may be seen more clearly in Fig. 3. The pin P lits in ahole, h, in plate B, and serves as a pivot on which the disk turns. Thesaid disk being secured to the plate B by means of the washer w, betweenwhich and the plate B there is a coiled spring, s, which allows the diskto yield to permit the catch to enter when the parts are broughttogether, one end of the said spring abuts against a shoulder on theplate B, and the other end abuts against the pin P on the disk D, andserves to restore the disk when it is rotated to release the catch. Thedisk turns on its central pin far enough to allow the catches c and c topass each other, in

which position the trunk may be opened. is a lug or check on the disk D,which extends beyond the outer edge of the disk and underlaps a portionof the plate B, (which is recessed for that purpose,) and prevents thelower edge ofthe disk from being displaced from contact with the plateB, and it also serves as a stop to limit the rotation of the disk D. Onthe plate B', and between the lugs L, there is a small rib, o, thatcomes in contact with the lower edge of the valance of the trunk, andserves as a guide in riveting the plate B to the said valance.

Fig. 2'is a plan view, with the central disk D removed, exposing thecatch c, the lugs L, and the hole h. It will be seen that the catch cisperpendicular to the base on its upper and left-haiiid sides, andbeveled on the two opposite sides. perpendicular sides of the said catchare twofold: first, to give it a secure hold when in contact with thecatch c; and, second, to retain 4 the disk D in an unlatchedpositionwhen it has been turned for the purpose of opening the trunk.This is accomplished by means of a sm all secondary catch, (not shown inthe drawing, but is located just below the catch c on the inner surfaceof the disk D, and a triile to the left of the catch o,) so that whenthe disk is rotated (by the application of the thumb and nger to theexternal projections on the disk shownat 'm in Fig. 3) until thesecondary catch L,drops behind the catch c, it remains in that positionuntil the catch cis withdrawn by the raising of the lid, when the diskreturns by the action of the spring to its normal or self-latchingposition. The lugs L (two of which are on the plate B and two on theplate B) interlock, so as to prevent all lateral movement of the partswhen closed. The hole h receives the pin P on the disk D, after whichthe washer w is riveted to the said pin, and thus secures the disk tothe plate B.

Fig. 3 is a sectional edge View, showing the plate B removed, and asection of the disk m represents the projections spoken of above; l?,the central pin, surrounded by the coilspring s; P', the pin againstwhich one end of the coil-spring abuts; and r, the raised ring Theobjects accomplished by the Q ime on the base-plate B, within which thedisk D is located. It will be seen that the central part of the plate Bis raised above its plane, to give room for the spring between it andthe Washer w.

The advantages of my invention are the simplicity, ease, and perfectionof its operation, beauty of its design, and cheapness of its production.

It may be made of cast or sheet metal.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The central catcl1disk D, having a lateral and a rotary motion, andconnected with the base-plate B by means of the pin P, coil-sprin g s,(or its equivalent,) and washer w, in combination with the catch-plateB', (or its equiva- 1ent,) substantially as shown and described.

2. The lug x on the disk D, arranged to engage with the base-plate B,for the purpose of limiting the rotation of said disk and holding itslower edge in contact with the said baseplate, substantially as shownand described.

HENRY C. HUNT. Witnesses:

HORACE HARRIS, J oHN H. Ross.

